Megan Lulow
Manager (UCI Nature Executive Director)
Office: 3021 Biological Sciences III
Cell: 949-500-8754
Email: mlulow@uci.edu
University of California, Irvine
Mail: 4120 Natural Sciences 2
Irvine CA 92697-1450
Megan began her work with UC Irvine’s UCI-NATURE (UC Irvine’s Networked Assets to Understand the Environment) program when it was initiated in 2016. The program oversees operations and stewardship for UC Irvine’s field-based assets for research, teaching, and outreach, including the Steele-Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center within the UC Natural Reserve System. Prior to her work with UCI-NATURE, Megan held multiple positions with the Irvine Ranch Conservancy over a ten-year period, during which the organization tripled in size. She worked with staff and partners to develop programs and integrate science into their resource management strategy to inform best management practices. Upon completing her graduate research, she was Assistant Director for two years at the Sweeney Granite Mountains Desert Research Center, also within the UC Natural Reserve System. Megan has worked extensively on both project implementation and research in the field of restoration ecology in a variety of California ecosystems since 1997. Her research and methodologies look to leverage natural processes to advance the restoration of ecosystems at scales and in locations that optimize ecological impact and cost efficiency. She received her doctorate in ecology from the University of California, Davis, with an emphasis in restoration, plant ecology, and plant-soil relations, and her bachelor’s degree with a double major in biology and environmental studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is broadly interested in ecology and enjoys bringing people together from multiple sectors of society to better understand natural environments and identify solutions to conservation and restoration challenges.
Kailen Andrews Mooney
Faculty Director (UCI Nature)
Professor, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
School of Biological Sciences
Scientist, Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory
Association of Delegates, Organization for Tropical Studies
Ph.D., University of Colorado, 2004, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Research Interests
community ecology, evolutionary ecology, plant-insect interactions
URL Lab website: tritrophic.org
Appointments
Postdoctoral Researcher, Cornell University, Dept. Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Anurag A. Agrawal Lab (www.herbivory.com), 2005-2007
Research Abstract
I use manipulative field experiments and to study the interactions between plants, arthropods and insectivorous birds in both ecological and evolutionary contexts. Traits of plants (e.g. defensive chemistry, morphology) influence whole communities of arthropods from the ‘bottom-up’, while predators influence the same communities from the ‘top-down’. These two influences have traditionally been considered separately. Plant defense theory has been bi-trophic in nature, focusing on the pairwise plant-herbivore interaction without explicitly addressing the community context in which the interaction is embedded. At the same time, community ecology has addressed the top-down effects of predators without considering how plant traits affect food web structure.
The goal of my research is to conceptually unite community and evolutionary ecology. To do this, I ask how heritable plant traits influence interaction networks among herbivores, herbivore mutualists, and predators, and in turn how such networks drive the microevolution of plant defense. Methodologically, I model the results of long-term and large-scale field experiments using a combination of quantitative genetic and multivariate statistical techniques. By incorporating complex dynamics into my experiments, I rigorously test theory while simultaneously collecting detailed natural history observations as the basis for refining and pushing forward those same theories.
Publications: https://www.faculty.uci.edu/profile.cfm?faculty_id=5484
Contact Information
Phone: (949) 824-7852
Email: mooneyk@uci.edu
University of California, Irvine
3112 Biological Sciences 3
Mail Code: 2525
Irvine, CA 92697
Brad Berger
Reserve Steward
Office: (760) 228-0316
Email: bberger@uci.edu
Brad Berger’s deep affection for the Burns Pinon Ridge Reserve started from his first visit there when he was a graduate student at UC Irvine in the mid-90’s. Except for a few years working as a postgraduate research fellow at the University of Minnesota studying carbon uptake by forests in Wisconsin, and a stint at the University of Edinburgh to obtain a master’s degree in mathematics, Brad has been working as a caretaker at the Burns Reserve. He is also a tenured professor of mathematics at Copper Mountain College in Joshua Tree, California. Brad is very knowledgeable about the native plants and wildlife of the area and cares deeply about conservation of the Mojave desert.
Julie Coffey
Assistant Specialist
Email: jecoffey@uci.edu
Julie is a recent addition to the UCI Nature team. She comes to UCI after completing her M.Sc in biology at California State University of Los Angeles, where she studied the response of floodplain wildlife communities to large-scale removal of an invasive plant along the Rio Grande. Prior to graduate school, Julie managed water quality sampling and assisted in restoration and ecological monitoring projects for the watershed division of the Cambridge Water Department. She also worked as a research technician for numerous field studies, including salt marsh and grassland bird surveys, and marine mammal behavioral work. She obtained her B.S. in environmental science and conservation biology from the Rubenstein School of the Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Vermont. In between research positions, she worked as an environmental educator for non-profit organizations, and continues to love teaching others about their local ecology. Currently, she is excited to work with faculty and staff at UCI to explore novel approaches for habitat restoration in the face of anthropogenic climate change, urbanization, and biological invasions.
Elaine Tulving
Assistant to Reserve Manager
Office: (760) 767-1010
Email: stulving@uci.edu
Steele/Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center
P.O. Box 2098 401 Tilting T Dr.
Borrego Springs, CA 92004
Elaine and her family have been residents of Borrego Springs, California, since 2002. She is an active community member and has served on boards of the local youth sports organizations. Elaine holds a B.A. in Public Administration from the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse. She enjoys hiking, mountain biking and photography. Elaine previously worked as a Senior Park Aide for California State Parks’ Colorado Desert District headquarters in Borrego Springs and has been with the Steele/Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center since 2012. She coordinates all activities related to lodging (including reservations), housekeeping, building maintenance and accounting for the Center.
Sicco Rood
Research Associate
Office: (760) 767-1010
Email: srood@uci.edu
Anza-Borrego Desert Research Ctr.
P.O. Box 2098 401 Tilting T. Drive
Borrego Springs, CA 92004-2098
Alan Tulving
Reserve Steward
Contact Information
Office: (760) 767-1010
Email: atulving@uci.edu
Steele/Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center
P.O. Box 2098 401 Tilting T Dr.
Borrego Springs, CA 92004